Minimum Age: 4 years Rating: Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Kids will have a great time playing and learning about shapes and sounds. View larger.

With large, bright buttons, even little ones will find the controls easily to navigate. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Catchy music, clever concept, easy to learn and play. The Bad: Console might not be loud enough if your surroundings are noisy. In a Nutshell: Hours of goofy yet educational fun. At a Glance Ages: 4 and up Requires: Three AA batteries, Phillips screwdriver

Easy to Learn; Fun to Play
The Hullaballo console is made of sturdy plastic with brightly-colored buttons that are easy for little fingers to find. Batteries aren't included and parents will need to put those in with the help of a screwdriver before play can start. The easy-to-read, illustrated instructions tell you how to play the game, which is a snap to learn. The console also clearly announces the rules of the game each time you turn it on. (It also plays a bouncy song at the beginning of each round that will stick in your head long after the game is over.)

Do a Funky Dance!
The talking musical console adds an element of excitement and unpredicability to the game. You never know what it will tell you to do next! The catchy music and the instructions to "do a funky dance!" at the end of the rounds especially appeal to kids. (Later, when you're not even playing the game, you can say, "Do a funky dance!" and they'll start dancing excitedly all over again.) The pleasing pallette of colors in Hullabaloo are appealing to the eye, from the purple, green, and red console to the multicolored play pads with their slightly retro images. These brightly-colored, sizeable play pads are hard to lose.Yet they are also easy to put away when the game is over.

Get Your Goof On
We especially enjoyed doing the funky dance at the end. We would even do a funky dance at the beginning of each round too-- the music is so catchy you just can't help it! At times, we wished the maximum volume of the console was higher. We also would have appreciated being able to put the batteries in without using a screwdriver. But overall, we found this game to be fun and energizing, with just the right amount of goofiness thrown in. It proceeds at a good pace -- slow enough so that kids have time to process the console's spoken directions, but fast enough to keep things exciting. The rounds are short so you don't get bored. And there are thousands of combinations of moves so you'll probably never play the same round again, not matter how many times you play!

What's in the Box
Talking musical console that directs play, 16 play pads, instructions.


Amazon.com Review This game is sort of like Twister meets Simon Says. Lay the Hullabaloo pads around on the floor about two 'kid's feet' away from each other. The pads are different shapes and colors and have pictures and words on them. Turn on the game console and the cheerful music begins, a happy voice welcomes you to the game and then gives the simple directions you'll need to play. "Jump on a square shape," "Slide over to a red shape," "Hop to a shape with an animal on it" and so on. Then it might tell you to freeze, or to put a body part on one pad, and then a different body part on another. Then, it'll tell you that if you are on a particular pad at the end of that round, you are the winner. We found it to be fun, and easy to understand--though we did wonder how long it might hold a child's interest. --Megan Sullivan



Customer Reviews

Fun Posted 12 November 2008
I can see where children would become a little bored with this, but it's really fun the first few times.

Wonderful fun on a rainy day!! Posted 11 November 2008
My son got this game for his 4th birthday, he is now 5.5 and plays with it all the time. It's great for a rainy day, because it gets the kids active and moving in a small space. It's also great to take on a trip because it doesn't take up much space and can be played anywhere. The directions are always different, we are still hearing new directions that we've never heard before. The only complaint I have, like many other reviewers is that it does not get loud enough, often we miss the directions if we are playing with a lot of children. The pads are made of an easy to clean, rubbery material, and we have never had to replace the batteries in a year and a half. Overall, a wonderful toy for little ones.

My girls love this game. Posted 11 November 2008
I have 3 girls very different in age (10,9, & 3). They all love this game. It is one they can play by themselves or with others. Ususally the older ones don't want to play the "little kid games" but this one they don't mind because it is fun for them. The game helps reinforce colors and shapes, but is mostly silly, and she loves that. I don't recommend many games, but this one I do.

Excellent Rainy Day Game! Posted 18 October 2008
My kids got this game for Christmas of last year and they still use it an average of once every 2 weeks. Sometimes more. I've only had to change the batteries once. My kids are ages 4, 6, and 8 and they each equally enjoy playing. I always describe it to others as a "Twister sort of game". The kids always end up giggling and it teaches my preschooler shapes and colors. It also gets them moving. I always end up out of breath when I play with them. The game is played by turning it on and starting on a purple Cranium Pad. You are then given a direction like "crawl to a red" or "hop to a square" or "walk on your tiptoes to a food" and so on. When the directions say "FREEZE" you are the winner if you are on the lucky pad. You will then need to take a bow or do a "funky monkey dance". So much fun...I recommend this game 100%. It's very durable. We haven't torn a mat yet, and the part that talks has been dropped countless times. It also has a volume control which comes in handy if there is a large group and it's a little noisy.

the most boring version of "simon says"... Posted 13 October 2008
Honestly, my kids (2.5 and 6.5 years) loved this the first two times they played it. After that, the thrill was gone. My daughter kept asking "what else can we do?" because it's the same directions over and over. And, even with just two kids, the voice isn't loud enough that we could hear it. I can't imagine tryin gto hear it over a group of children. This game is SO not worth $25. A game of "simon says" is free and a whole lot more fun and creative. The educational value of this game is pretty low. I don't think a parent needs to pay $25 for a child to learn basic shapes and colors and to recognize a handful of animals, instruments, and food. For the life of me, I can't see why this game got so many great reviews. I will say that the construction of the game is decent and the marketig/packaging are top notch. The game itself, however, is quite dull even to a toddler. Simon says:"Save your money!"